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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rule — a law
  3. cold — not warm
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. dip — to sink
  7. content — happy
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. rule — government
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. content — the amount
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com